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Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Saturday, February 10, 2007

The Overlooked: Kalash

Part two in The Overlooked series. Dedicated to those peoples who struggle for survival in identity in retaliative obscurity. The series will now go on a short hiatus as the Oregon Trail and Online Mapping Sites reviews are finished.

The Kalash are an extremely small and isolated group. Odds are you never heard of them. They are an anachronism, a people out of time and place. They are struggling to survive in a region which has become noticed for all the wrong reasons.

LocationThere are between 3,000 and 6,000 Kalash left in the world. They live in a valley region in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. The land of the Kalash is known as Kafiristan (literally "land of the infidel"). The valleys which they inhabit are known for their beauty.

CultureThe culture of the Kalash is unique. The Kalash are polytheists who share similarities to the Olympian gods of Greece. Sexes intermix and the only hint at sexism is that women are isolated during their periods and are then required to purify. While there are cases of arranged marriages, men and women are free to purpose their own intentions.

Kalash live as subsistence farmers. There way of life has been practically unchanged for hundreds of years. They practice ancient traditions which are just now being documented.

Some Kalash have modernized and converted to Islam. While these people wish to stay near their relations (family being a major aspect of Kalash life) they are considered persona non grata.HistoryThe origins of the Kalash is highly controversial. They are a white race with many of their members having blond hair. Legends claim they are descendants from Greek and Macedonian soldiers who fought for Alexander. Some DNA testing backs up this claim. Other testing disputes this but still shows evidence of locals intermixing with Greeks.

For most of their history the Kalash have lived on good terms with their neighbors. In the 1700s they came under the rule of the Mehtars, rulers of northern now day Pakistan, who were tolerant of the Kalash as long as they paid taxes. Time seemed a foreign concept as rulers came and went. The Kalash stayed out of the affairs of others and others stayed out of the affairs of the Kalash.

Things started to change towards the end of the nineteenth century. The Nuristani, possible relations to the Kalash, were forced to convert to Islam in 1895. The Nuristanti quickly became radicalized (so radical in fact that they were the first to wage Jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan).

As the twentieth century continued increase pressure was mounted against the Kalash. Higher taxes were imposed and services like loans and support were denied. Many converted to Islam for economic betterment. When the Afghan-Soviet war broke out the lands nearby became home to Jihadis on their way to Afghanistan. Seeing an oppurtunity, many Muslims organizations funded mosques and madrasah built on seized Kalash lands. When the Islamists' desired result of total conversion was not achieved tactics of ethnic cleansing were used.

TodayThe Afghanistan problem is repeating itself in the opening years of the twenty-first century. Sporadic violence breaks out against the Kalash even today. It does not help that the province they live in is known as the most radical Islamic one in Pakistan. Taliban, al Qaeda, and others know to harbor hate and their political allies keep the flames of bigotry alive.

There is some hope however. Their numbers are slightly rebounding with a high fertility rate among those who defend their culture the most. The national Pakistani government has begun a more tolerant relation with the Kalash and international aid and attention helps with some cultural preservation.

Tourism is now a major issue to the Kalash. Some see it as a savior, a source of massive funding the likes of which have never been seen before in the valleys. With money they can afford security and betterment. Some see negative affects however. After resisting outside forces for over 2,000 years will they succumb to globalized tourism? Will their cultural meanings, their every essences, be lost to hotels and Disneyland-style presentations of themselves? Time will tell.

The gorgeous valleys have protected the Kalash for thousands of years. Outside forces, ranging from hostile to good intentioned, seek to modify the Kalash way of life. Unlike the Roma there seems to be no middle ground to stand upon and thrive. Time will tell if the small population of Kalash can continue or fade away into the fog of history.Additional ResourcesKalash article from Picturesque Pakistan - Everything you ever wanted to know about the KalashKalashaPeople.org - A multilingual blog by the Kalash

31 comments:

Hi there, Thanks for Writing up for kalasha people.I see that you have visited our alphabet book website and the kalasha people.org.I have uploaded a short film on youtube.you might wanna put as a link.(kalasha people's ancient culture)Its in two parts.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uV6RuwUeK8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLqHOld6QC8&mode=related&search=and here is link to my flickr photos.http://www.flickr.com/photos/21968832@N00/page2/i would appriciate if you can remove the title picture on your blog with man and women in white clothes and put one of these.Thanks..Kalasman

Great post, what an interesting people. I suppose that these are the remnants of the greco-baluchistani kingdoms no? THere are certainly many groups like this throughout the islamic world, small pre-islamic, even pre-christian, religions, that have more or less survived to the modern day. Like the Druze, Zoroastrians, Yazidi, etc.

Those people have nothing to do with Greek.Greek have called Alexander the great with his army Barbarian.The reason they have called them barberian is because they were non greek.Alexander the great was boren in northern Greek, northern Greek use to be Illyrian(Albanian)land.His father was Illyrian(albanian)from old macedonia and his mother was Illyrian(albanian) from northern greek.Note;old macedonia and northern greek use to be Illyrian land(albanian)until not long time ago.Even today on those places many of Illyrian(albanian)live.So,they use to speak Greek language with outsiders, because Greek language it was like English today.But,Alexander always has spoken his language(Illyrian)with his army(soldiers).Alexander the Great with his army have killed 18000 Greeks.If he was a Greek man would he have killed his own people,NEVER.One more thing,greek people are dark skined and glak eyes,Illyrian(Albanian)are with liter skine and many of them with blue eyes.Thank you for reading it.

-Name of places and greek gods from the albanian language.If anyone wants to know the truth about Illyrian(Albanian),Alexander the Great…etcJust write those words on (google) you will see

(READ THIS ABOUT ATALNTIS THE LOST CONTINENT. ILLYRIAN GODS NOT GREEK GODS. PELASGIAN/ILLYRIAN/ALBANIAN NAMES. )

NOTE;For you that you don't know the history of Alexander the Great,Illyrian(albanian)I suggest that you read history from foreign authors.Thanks

Well i thing i should write some information here too..So lets start..

There are few places where Alexander the Great's influence has not been felt. His vast empire spread from the Atlantic shores of Spain to the plains of India. His example has been admired and followed for generations to come, and his legacy has been deeply felt by the entire world. It is said that Julius Ceaser himself began to weep as he stood under the shadow of a statue of Alexander the Great, for Alexander had conquered half the world by 19, and Ceaser not even made a name for himself by that age. And how was he Albanian in any way? Well, first of all Alexander was son of Philip II and Olympia. Olympia, was the princess of Epirus, a province in Northern Greece, considered to be modern day Albania, and an ancient territory of Albanian tribes. This relation of Alexander having Albanian blood is considered somewhat feasible and acceptable by the history books, but we want to stretch out the enigma of Alexander. Initially there is the question of where and to what people Alexander belonged to. It is known that Alexander the Great, was really Alexander of Macedon, and the current flag of Macedonia is the ancient sun flag of Alexander's army. This seems reasonable, but what really were the "Macedon" people. As stated in the Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, "the Slavs, occupied much of the area [Balkans] by the 6th century AD", so it cannot be possible for the now largely Slavic Macedonia to be a descendant from Alexander the Great. Slavic tribes did not come into the region of Northern Greece until well after Alexander's death, which leaves only two people left, the Albanians and the Greeks. It is important tot note that the history books have not labeled Alexander Greek, and therefore he can only be Albanian. Albanian tribes are the earliest known to occupy northern Greece, and that allows Alexander only one nationality. Alexander did not have Albanian blood, he was an Albanian. To Albanians this fact seems very clear, that’s why they have named there currency lek, after Leka I Madh. The Barbaric war style of the Illyrians was deeply rooted in Alexander's spirit, which is good reason for his expertise as a general and a conqueror. More proof of Alexander's Albanian ancestry would have to be the close relations he had with the King of the Illyrians, practically a man of his own kin. There is an ancient legend that the Illyrian king gave Alexander a large, beastly, dog to commemorate his achievements. The beast was so ferocious, Alexander decided to make it hunt bears. The dog showed no interest in this endeavor and lay lazily without moving. This angered Alexander and he had the dog killed. When the king of the Illyrians heard of this he sent him another dog, this time with a message of "not wasting the dog's time with small things". This time Alexander had the dog fight a lion, which the dog quickly broke the back of, and then an Elephant, who the dog forced off a cliff. The extensive diplomacy between Alexander and the Illyrians only suggests that Alexander was an Albanian himself. Also, there is the conquered territory of Alexander. When looking at a map of his advances, oddly enough Illirium and Northern Greece is not touched by his armies. Yet, the Illyrian and Northern Greek tribes did not have armies capable of facing the Great Alexander. But Alexander considered them as one, they were all Albanian. Alexander could not possibly conquer his own land. That is why this area remained untouched. Accepting Alexander's Albanian ancestry opens a vast world of possibilities. There is of course the long Ptolemy dynasty of Egypt that followed after Alexander's death, started by one of Alexander's generals and childhood friend. Accepting Alexander as an Albanian, would mean accepting a big part of Egypt's history to be determined by an Albanian dynasty, that of Ptolemy. Alexander's genius and accomplishments opened a great chapter in the history of Albania. A chapter that has never been forgotten. http://albhistory.netfirms.com/famousalbanian s-alexander.html

There is a theory of Albanians as descendants of Atlant, the lost continent. One of the oldest Illyrian tribes though was called Taulant (thau land) = dry land and in Asia there was another Illyrian settlement which now is called Thailand. There are three places called Albany 1. A city near London [Albany; it was said that there the first Christian roman soldier was killed] 2. Central Albania [actually Albanoi = Alb banoi - there lived Alb or the Alp mountainous people, people that lived in the (h)ill there is no coincidence that the greatest Albanian colony in Asia near China and Turkmenistan is located in very high ground along the longest river called Il 3. A country in Caucasus region near Caspian Sea. Why did Alexander the Great rush to India? Africa was certainly richer in gold and specially in diamonds and it would be much easier to conquer the black nation rather than the populated and well fortified India. Why should he go through so many perils, pass difficult paths through treacherous mountains when he had the great fleet in the Mediterranean when a shortcut to the south would have provided him with the greatest treasures in the world? The explanation is that he followed the path of previous Aryans. If there wasn't any previous expedition towards India he would have never dared to go to a dangerous land. Outnumbered several fold by the indigenous population he marched as if he was sightseeing rather than conquering India. Even by modern means of communication it would have been difficult to travel nowadays so fast through three continents. The truth is that he stopped over in those places where there were old Aryan settlements. The same as today we use gas stations in USA & Europe to tank our car with petrol on a trip to the country side. His losses were so minimal because most of those who died, expired under the harsh weather conditions. Alexander too would die from a contagious disease. Illyrian phalanges seemed more like boy scouts than warriors in India. The argument that India didn't know the horse and iron that he brought is nonsense. From recent archaeological data it comes out that India traded gold for iron and other heavy metals with Phoenicians who travelled to African shores before 10,000 years ago, almost 9,500 years before Alexander invaded India. We must remember there is no other language in the world that uses -ar as a suffix at the end of the word regularly as Albanian does for creating a noun from another noun. In other languages you create a noun from an adjective or a verb. There is no other language that uses ar for creating the most important word of all. GOLD. Aryans were called like this because of their fair golden hair. Their skin also sparked like the precious metal. In Albanian language there is another basic word ar which means ploughed land. It is also used by Albanians that founded Troy in Asia Minor. There it used to call Ares. In Europe Albanians used it to call the god of heaven Ouranos which is the distorted Greek word for Aryanus. From this word comes the word ari that Illyrians as good observers of the sky (for that matter they were called Illyrians) used to name the constellation of seven stars near which glitters the North Pole. is In Arabic Aryan is pronounced with a strong rr. Why? Because it is not an Arabic word. How could Aryans be Iranian tribes as historians insist when they were called the white invaders of India? The white man is the heir of the Alpine hominoid found in Neanderthal [ne ander dal = ridiculously enough this German name can be translated I come from the dream in Albanian language]. Most of historians were of Greek origin. For them history starts 3000 years ago when they can trace the first sings of Greek civilisation. They forget that humans were not created in one single day. It was a long process of evolution. It took millions of years for the white man to have the same aspect as it is today. It is very strange that Albanian name is preserved in very cold and high grounds. One might suspect that if the Albanians or Aryans are the direct descendants of the ruined continent, they must be afraid of the low lands. Albanian never retreated to the mountains from the countless enemies. The truth is the greatest resistance has been organised in Epirus against Rome. Epirus is not a mountainous area. The greatest spread of Dalmatians took place along the shores of Adriatic. Etruscans too settled in the most fertile land of Italy. It seems that primitive Albanians were found of the mountains in the beginning of their settlements in Illyrian peaks. In Montenegro and Crete there are the only Illyrian look-alike race with curly blond hair and rose coloured face. Although they spread also in warm countries. This is the reason that in Africa there was a nation called Elyria. My guess is that this group of ancient Albanians created the half white race of Arabs. But the bulk of white people moved towards highest peaks of Euro-Asia. The greatest puzzle of all is the history of Denmark. This country was called Jutland. I found this place quite accidentally as I was looking for other places in Europe that had similar toponymy as that one used in Albanian saga Epos I Kreshnikeve. I found out that in India the word Krishna was the name of a god. In Albania Kreshte comes from the composite krye eshte which means the head of the tribe or the peak of a mountain. While we in the bible call Christos Krisht, in Albania heroes are called Kreshnike. Well there are two words in the bible with Aryan origin that nobody until now has ever explained. They are called Urimm and Thummim. They were two stones that Moses inserted in his ephod. They were used like dice on the ground to talk with the El god. (Yll = El in Arabia and Africa) these two stones are the greatest mystery of the bible. No other language has helped the researchers of the Bible to solve it. Why? Because no serious historian has ever studied Albanian language which is the only language in the world to have a separate group of clauses called Deshirore or Mallkimore. It is similar to the imperative because it is used at the beginning only in the second person. Nowadays you can also use for literal effects in the first, second and third person singular and plural. Well urim is Deshirore and it comes from the word Ouranus. Only in Albanian language you address somebody with O wich is called thirror. To this day the priest is called urate. The blessing that he pronounces and also any kind of blessing, evenb that spelled by your father is called urate. The second word is Thummim which means Mallkim - curse. So coming back to the story of Albanian heroes that were called Christos or kreshnike, I found that many geographic names used in the epos were also places in Scandinavian countries. In Finnland there was the region of Lapp when we know that all south Albanians are called Lap (lab). Llap=tongue & talk too much. I was shocked when I found around 300 basic Albanian words in Finnish vocabulary. Lap in Finnish is derogative and insulting word. Probably the new comers from Asia despised the primitive old Albanian race. The greatest surprise was Denmark which was once called Ylland (Yl + land) = yll - star & land (lende-material, specially wooden matter) and also name of the tribe Tau-land. No wonder that Alexander the Great used the same Viking helmet with the horns of a bull. Well, in the south of Ylland lived the tribes of Angles or Engjells who invaded England. That is why the infinitive of English is so close with the clauses that Albanian language considers lidhore. That is the reason that the verb to be changed into are in Plural. The very word engjel - angel reminds us that the ancient people believed that eagles were the company of gods. Zeus, an Illyrian god had an eagle as his guard. Very often Zeus was transformed into an eagle. In the bible the ark of Moses was surrounded by the flying creatures. Amphisbena the strange creature found in BESTIARY THE SECOND FAMOUS BOOK AFTER THE BIBLE (in Greek Amphi means double) was an eagle with the body of a snake and if we look carefully the Albanian eagle has the tongue of a snake and the old symbol had a very prolonged body). It was born In Helio-polis in Egypt where the sun god El or Yl in Illyrian was worshipped.

The people who overlived the great tsunamis, that washed over at least the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Ireland, Britain, escaped to the Mediterranean. First they bought - yes bought, not occupied by force Crete. They brought their civilization, the Minoan one, after their leader Minno to Crete. When during next centuries, the world slowly recovered from the catastrophe, they as great seafarers, conquered the whole area, that became to be called Indo-European. In East they went to India, in South they captured the coastal areas of Mediterranean. In Europe they conquered the whole coast from Italy, through Iberia until the Southern Sweden (Skaneland) [S'KANE LAND = THEY HAVE NO LAND] in North and Lethuania in North-East. Only the Greeks tried to stop them. And the thick forests of Twiskland [dushk land = forest land](Germany) were a hinder for them, especially because behind them there were still more dangerous people, the Finns, and the Magyars.

Alexander the Great destroyed their culture in East, and the Roman Empire in Southern Europe. When Christianity began to disperse to North, Charlemagne and others made havoc of the rest of their culture. Their last resort was Friesland (Frya's people) from Holland to Denmark. The Frisian language gave much to the later German and Swedish languages.

THE LETTERS. Ch I: OKKE MY SON.

4. Written at Liudwerd, in the year 3449 after Atland was submerged - that is, according to the Christian reckoning, the year 1256.

3449-1256-1(no 0)=2194BC.

THE BOOK OF ADELA'S FOLLOWERS. Ch XIII: USEFUL EXTRACTS FROM THE WRITINGS LEFT BY MINNO.

1. Minno was an ancient sea-king. He was a seer and a wizard, and he gave laws to the Kretans. He was born at Lindawrda, and after all his wanderings he had the happiness to die at Lindahem.

Minoan Crete.17. "Ewa" means that sentiment which is implanted in the breast of every man in order that he may know what is right and what is wrong... "Ewa" [among Maori tribes in New Zealand it called iwi] has also another meaning; that is, tranquil, smooth...18. ..."Ewa" is another symbol of the World, who remains always just and unchangeable.19. "Ewa", eternal and unalterable, the sign of wisdom and rectitude, must be sought after by all pious people, and must be possessed by all judges.

Ch XIV: FROM MINNO'S WRITINGS.1. When Nyhellenia [nje e lena, in Albanian language we still say lenesha for a woman that has been dishonoured, violated etc], whose real name was Minerva, was well established, and the Krekalanders loved her as well as our own people did, there came some princes and priests to her burgh and asked Minerva where her possessions lay.2. Nyhellenia answered "... What I have inherited is the love of wisdom, justice, and freedom...".3. The gentlemen went away laughing, and saying "Your humble servants, wise Hellenia."4. But they missed their object, for the people took up this name as a name of honour... the good Krekalanders [greke - landers = Greek inhabitants] understood at once that it was calumny.

Ch XV: FROM MINNO'S WRITINGS.

1. When I came away from Athenia [it is very important to recognize Albanian spelling E thenie] with my followers, we arrived at an island named by my crew Kreta,[Albanians say bertas me sa kam ne krye = scream with all my voice inside my head which comes from the legend of Zeus whose daughter Athena caused him a headache and VULCAN open his head. His daughter Athena jumped out with such load screams of joys that other gods were stunned. To this day the people of Crete have blond hair and blue eyes. The same type of people seen by indigenous tribes of Maori were considered to be fairies & ghosts the same as Spaniards were considered by Aztecs. When these people similar in aspect to those in Crete appeared in New Zealand they were playing flutes. Illyrians were certainly very found of music] because of the cries that the inhabitants raised on our arrival. When they really saw that we did not come to make war, they were quiet, so that at last I was able to buy a harbour in exchange for a boat and some iron implements, and a piece of land.

2. When we had been settled there a short time, and they discovered that we had no slaves, they were very much astonished; and when I explained to them that we had laws which made everybody equal, they wished to have the same... [Kanun {Canne in France, Canutu the first king of Denmark} of Leke Dukagjinit from which comes the name duke, while duke is part of PASKAJORE IN ALBANIAN LANGUAGE]

1. Before the bad time came our land was the most beautiful in the World. The sun rose higher, and there was seldom frost. The trees and shrubs produced various fruits, which are now lost. In the fields we had not only barley, oats, and rye, but wheat which shone like gold, and which could be baked in the sun's rays. The years were not counted, for one was as happy as another.

2. On one side we were bounded by the World Sea, on which no one but us might or could sail; on the other side we were hedged in by the broad Twiskland, through which Finda's (fiend = enemy in English language, fende = (n.)fart in Albanian) people dared not come on account of the thick forests and the wild beasts.

Twiskland=Tyskland=Germany

Ch XXII: HOW THE BAD TIME CAME.

1. During the whole summer the sun had been hidden behind the clouds, as if unwilling to look upon the Earth. There was perpetual calm, and the damp mist hung like a wet sail over the houses and marshes. The air was heavy and oppressive, and in men's hearts was neither joy nor cheerfulness.

2. In the midst of this stillness the Earth began to tremble as if she was dying. The mountains opened to vomit forth fire and flames. Some sank into the bosom of the Earth, and in other places mountains rose out of the plain. Aldland [Albland = the white land], called Atland by the Sturian navigators???? who lived there, disappeared, and the wild waves rose so high over hill and dale that everything was buried in the sea. Many people were swallowed up by the Earth, and others who had escaped the fire perished in the water. (Greenland = Grin - land = toke e grire or ngrin land = toke e ngrire)

Atland=Aldland=Oldland. [This is pure nonsense. How can you call it Oldland when in Albanian sound at + land or fatherland]3. It was also in Finda's land that the Earth vomited fire [we must remember that in volcanic areas the sulphurous gases really smell and burst like farts and the primitive Albanian who had to explain every natural phenomenon must have really believed that earth farted], and in Twiskland. Whole forests were burned one after the other, and when the wind blew from that quarter our land was covered with ashes. Rivers changed their course, and at their mouths new islands were formed of sand and drift.

4. During three years this continued, but at length it ceased, and forests became visible. Many countries were submerged, and in other places land rose above the sea, and the wood was destroyed through the half of Twiskland. Troops of Finda's people came and settled in the empty places. Our dispersed people were exterminated or made slaves. Then watchfulness was doubly impressed upon us, and time taught us that union is force.

Ch XXIII: THIS WAS INSCRIBED ON THE WARABURCH BY THE ALDERGAMUDE.

5. In the year 101 after the submersion of Aldland a people came out of the east. That people was driven by another. Behind us, in Twiskland, they fell into disputes, divided into two parties, and each went its own way. Of the one no account has come to us, but the other came in the back of our Skenland {Sken - nder - be = the greatest Albanian king}, which was thinly inhabited, particularly the upper part. Therefore they were able to take possession of it without contest, and as they did no other harm, we would not make war about it.

My favorite pet theory is that the Albanians are actually Babylonians -- descendants of Prince Alban, the seventh son of Emperor Bezuin II. Alban's last mentioned in the historical record as leading a punitive expedition against the Kurds in the empire's north, so if he was unable to return over the mountains for some reason, Illyria is as sensible a place for him to settle as any.

The mythology of greek it isn't greeks but is Yllirian - Albanian, all the names and words have sense only in Albanian dialectic language! Inform your self take an Albanian dictionary and the Iliad in original language like Homer write it, When Homer was born, the Greeks had just recently learned how to use the alphabet from the Phoenicians. Homer lived around 700 BC, in the Archaic period in Greece. No one knows where in Greece he lived exactly, and Homer didn't make up these stories, or even the words, himself. The Greeks lived in a lot of little city-states they do not have a nation and in the Bronze Age each one had in its own city a king. Before the Trojan war there is no indication of helens.Greeks were invited by pelasgians in their cities Additional Details"Zeus" survives as "Zot" in the Albanian language and it's mean "VOICE". The invocation of his name is the common form of oath among the modern Albanians. "Athena" ( the Latin Minerva), the goddess of wisdom as expressed in speech, would evidently owe its derivation to the Albanian "E Thena," which simply means "speech." "Thetis," the goddess of waters and seas, would seem to be but Albanian "Deti" which means "sea."- The word "Ulysses,"whether in its Latin or Greek form "Odysseus," means "traveler" in the Albanian language, according as the word "udhe,"(udhetues) which stands for "route" and "traveler," is written with "d" or "l," both forms being in use in Albanian.Even the name GREEK isn’t greek! Romans added their latin suffix -ci making it Graeci. Well, in Pelasgian mythology “Graia” or “Graes” were three old ladies sisters of the monsters called Gorgon and u can grab any mythology book and read their story. In Albanian language "Gra" means exactly that, “Old Ladies”. Singular "Grua/Gruaja" and plural "Gra".According to mythology Illyrios was the child of Cadmus & Harmonia. And Cadmus was the son of Agenor who was a greek hero! So all old greeks were pelasgians. So the old helen only by languge different from other pellasgians(illyrians, epiriots, macedonians). They rapresent only a partial culture of a big nation. The question is:"what are the new greeks"?The Y-Chromosome Haplogroup Frequency- The Today Greek CHART Population hg1 hg2 hg3 hg4 hg7 hg8 hg9 hg10 hg12 hg13 hg16 hg21 hg22 hg26 hg28 Greek 11 22 8 0 0 0 28 0 0 0 0 28 0 3 0 POPULATION DNA DISTANCE FROM Greeks: 1 Cypriot 8 -2 Turkish 21- 3 Ashkenazi Jews 23-4 Sephardic Jews 24-5 Romanian 26 -6 Muslim Kurds 26-7 Bulgarian 29-8 Armenian 30 -9 Kurdish Jews 32 - today greek blood and DNA: The genotype and allele frequencies of the 9.1-kb polymorphism in 1,844 unrelated healthy donors from Mediterranean populations living in 26 different geographic locations. The frequency of the 9.1 kb + allele is remarkably uniform and less than 0.50 across the different populations living in North Africa and Greece and ranges from 0.44 (Casablanca) to 0.49 (Athens)!!The Albanian population structure is analyzed based on the allele frequencies of six classic genetic markers: ACP, GC, PGM1, AK, ADA, and 6PGD. The results show a significant heterogeneity between the Albanian population: the frequencies of some alleles, particularly those of the PGM*1W31 variant, and the analysis of the R matrix still show the actual peculiar genetic structure of the Albanians! Albania = 75% Dinaric, 10% West Mediterranean, 10% Alpine, 5% Noric = 5% periphery Nordish.More important element in the population of Greece is formed by the Albanians (ca.240 000), called Arvanitae (Arnaouts) by the Greeks, while they name themselves Skyptars'Karl Baedeker Greece: 'Handbook for Travelers' in 1909in Homer's Iliad, and Odyssey, whilst the aristocrats such as Achilles and Menelaus have blond hair, the slaves Eurybates and Thersites are brunet. Indeed, the Greek orator Dio of Prusa noted that the Greek ideal of beauty was a Nordic one. The Greeks, he said, admired the blond Achilles, but thought that the barbarian Trojan Hector, was black-haired. [Günther (1956).] The poet Bacchylides said that the women of Sparta were blonde, and Dicaearchus said much the same thing about the women of Thebes. [Günther (1956).] For the Greeks, the most beautiful woman who ever lived, Helen, was a blonde, as were those mythical men such as Adonis, who were famed for their handsomeness. [Sieglin (1935).]An oft-quoted passage from the 4th c. AD Jewish writer Adamantius Judaeus is used to prove that the original Greeks were tall, pale, blond and light-eyed, not dark like they are today!Argonautica, the Greek poet Apollonius Rhodius, describes the hero Jason, and all fifty of the Argonauts, as blond-haired. [Sieglin (1935).] When the heroine Electra, in Euripides' play of that name, finds a lock of her brother Orestes' hair, on the grave of their father Agamemnon, she can tell that it is his hair, because of its distinctive blond colour. It would appear that the nobility of ancient Greece was distinguished from the dark masses, by its many blond members. [Ridgeway (1909)."Pelasgians" is the name generally given by ancient writers to the peoples before the Hellenes. According to both Herodotus and Thucyclides, Pelasgians formed the largest element of the early population of Greece and the Aegean, and most of them were gradually assimilated by the Hellenes. Herodotus saw this transformation as following the invasion by Danaos (the Egyptian). The idea that the Pelasgians were the native population, converted to something more "Greek" by the invading Egyptians, also occurs in the plays of Aischylos and Euripides, written around the same time as Herodotus' Histories .x egotrip: This is my DNA examination done in this intitution www.genetree.com/index.php , and i'm an Albanian born in the old city of Apollonia (Fier today). If you call this an automanipulation I think that you have problems with your self not with albanians!!

Some Kalash words are undoubtedly related to the Romany language, and I am puzzled that they even have identical words which implies cultural and possibly genetic connection. These facts should be reserched by the experts.

I compared the words in five languages - Kalasha/Khowar/ Nuristani/ Hindi-Urdu and Pashtu. The Kalasha seem to share the most identical words with the Romany. In addition to this, the blonds among the Romany people seem to have the same facial features as the Kalasha people.

p.s.I also noticed that the Nurestani word for "rain" is identical to the Romany word -BARISH. The Hindi-Urdu word for "two" is identical to the Romany word -DUI.

Except for the language and their physical similarities, the Kalash people and the Romany share geographic connection. Also, the ancient Romany culture was pagan and even today in their hearts, their pagan culture remains very strong.

p.s. I was amazed to see that in reallity(contrary to media suggestion)there are so many blond Romanies, even in a country where blonds are scarcity.

There were an interesting series of articles a few years ago in Pakistan (for the life of me I can't remember which newspaper) written by a pair of historians who were trying to disabuse Pakistanis of many ideas we have about our history that were the creations of well meaning amateur British historians.That the Kalash are Greeks was one of them. They pointed out that because it was posited by one man that they might be Greek, this became the point of departure for all discussions about the Kalash for a good seven decades.Their religion has no real similarities to Greek paganism. Their language is nothing like Greek, and as your blog has proven maTheir language is a Dardic language and is related to the languages around it with no noticeable Greek admixtures. Nothing differentiates it orgins from Chitrali or Kashmiri.The fact that they are blonde and blue eyed is also something of a canard. Blond hair and blue eyes are no more frequent amongst them then any other people in Northern Pakistan. Not to say that blond hair and blue eyes are common. They are very rare. But having volunteered my summers in an Afghan refugee camp outside of Peshawar let me state with authority that Western aide workers and the few tourists (who I am not impugning with racist motives, but for whatever reason) would only take pictures of blond and blue/green/hazled eyed people.So why were the Kalash singled out as Greeks (or Albanians, or Rom)? Because they alone had preserved their purely indigieunous religion by the 19th century. If the British had come a few centuries earlier, when Islam had yet to come to dominate the other valleys of the Pakistani Northern Areas I am sure we would be arguing whether Chitralis and Hunzawals and a myriad other people are Greeks (Albanians, Roma, Babylonias, the wondering Jews...).Once again 19th century historical romanticism trumps the very obvious but much (to some) less interesting truth.I think the Kalash are still facinating for being the only pre-Hindu, pre-Muslim tradition in Pakistan and hope in the future any study of them focuses on their own culture rather then arbitrarily comparing them to randomly chosen civilizations.

Catholic Gauze said:The idea that all cultures are equal is a remenant of Marxist thought that should go away.****************

Well, the fact that Christianism and Islam were spread more than other religions, doesn't mean that those are "advanced" religions.

In contrary, Christianism and Islam are the most "fuckin" religions, "mud" religions, because they need FORCE and KILLING and RULE, if they want to spread.

Nuristanis became muslims, by force. Remove the force, and you should see only pagan Nuristanis, but thanx to TERROR thay are muslims.

Only "shit" need to spread by force. The religion which is good and fine, doesn't need to spread by force. For example no one in the world, likes Nuristanis or Arabs or englishman, but every people likes Kalasha, because they have saved their identity and culture.

And REMEMBER Kalashas never needed FORCE to save their culture, but thay were coscient about their identity.

Anonymous, I never said Islam and Christianity are more "advanced" religions. The violence that was periodically used to advance Christendom past its European/Southwest-South Core is a dark spot on Christians whose religion does teach otherwise. This post is done in defense of the Kalash.

To the people who are "arguing" the similarities between Albanian/Romany and Kalash, ~70% of the words provided have either Arabic or Persian roots. This is not a surprise due to recent distortion in those languages.

I would suggest, before you come up with any idea, do some investigation in the "root" of the words to find if the word is originally from that language or come via a third language. Comparing a distorted word (for example, Raat, Tu, Vakt, Pi, Dukan, etc etc) make sure that it belongs to that language. The reason is, if a third language, for example, Arabic, has influenced a word in both Kalash or Albanian, it shows no evidence of similarities between those two. After reading the comments here, to a novice with little persian or arabic language skills, it will appear that Kalash is more closer to Arabic than Albanian or Greek (which is obviously not the case!!)

most who agree of albanian origin of kalash are correct. trim tilo, one of the commanders of alexander had gotten sick and was sent back to illyria with 50 illyrian soldiers. the got los in northern india, in region of hunza. there were remnants even in a valley in china called tarim (after trim tilo). the world must cradle these kalash people because they are a unique people and survivor.

Angelos: My God... This is really sad... All non-Hellenes want a piece of Alexandros... He was "Albanian", he was "Slav", he was WHATEVER you like and WHATEVER you would like him to be, simply because according to his oath, "FOR ME, ANY GOOD FOREIGNER IS A GREEK AND ANY BAD GREEK IS WORSE THAN A BARBARIAN". Alexandros was a GREAT HELLENAS and you should try to adopt the ways we have taught the world that can live, instead of trying to alter history. History proved you wrong, and still does anyway.. Whichever rock you lift you find Hellenic evidence, Hellenic heritage across the world. As for having killed Greeks, yes,of course, as Leonidas has done so too and Lyssandros and Periklis, during the Pelopponisian War. For those who forget or ignore ancient Hellenic history, allow me to remind you that a continuous struggle for power and dominance was the main characteristic of the ancient Hellenic world, and unity was only achieved only when a common enemy was to be faced. Καληνύχτα.

So now Alexander the Great (ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ) was Albanian?? My God, people just get over it, he was GREEK/ΕΛΛΗΝΑΣ. And if our Albanian or other Slavic people insist on reading "foreign" books, here you are. From Oxford University. Unless if you mean the books that have been written since 1991 that the propaganda of Skopje began, which was spread through books full of inaccurate historical stories, thus not even facts, and supported of course by the USA's foreign policy, that has a great interest in the region, due to its desire to get access to the Aegean sea because of the existence of oil there. THOSE books, yes, they can tell us that Alexander the Greta was SWEDISH (!!!!!!) if that would serve the aforementioned purposes....

But the ONLY truth, comes from historians, as below... Have a good night..